John n



NITED STATES lPATEnVr Ormes.

JOHN N. srEA'nNs, or New' YORK, N. Y.

NEEDLE-LOOM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 377,536, dated February 7, 1888.

l Application filed September 24, 1886. Seria-l No. 214,408. (N o model.)

l To all whom 'it may concern:

y Be it known that I, JOHN N. SrEARNs, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Needle-Looms, of which the following is such a full, clear, conoise, and exact description as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

In what are known as fneedle-looms the weft or filling is introduced by a needle which, by passing through the shed and returning, leaves a double filling having a loop at the edge opposite that from which the needle enters. In order to keep the lling in proper positionand to prevent it from being carried back by the return movement of the needle, the loop has to be retained until the forward movement of the lay, when the beating up takes place, after which the lay returns, and, a new shed being formed, the filling just introduced and beaten up is bound by the crossing of thewarp-threads. To catch the loop when formed by the needle and to hold the same until the lay moves forward after the needle has returned, as well as to release the loop while the reed is tightening the filling-has heretofore been' attended with many difficulties. The requirements are such that the mechanism should not be complicated or uncertain in its movements, and it should be so regulated and timed with reference to the movements of the needle and of the lay as to prevent any failure in catching-the loop and in retaining and releasing the same at -stated times with each introduction of the weft by the needle and movement of the lay in beating it u The object of my invention is to construct a simple and effective loop-retaining mechanism having uniform movements whereby a pin is made to pass through the loop and be withdrawn therefrom when required; and to this end the invention consistsin the construction and arrangement of a device which carries the loop-retaining pin, and of certain other parts acting upon or with such device to lower the pin and keep the same in that position until the loop is formed,when its upward'movement ispermitted, as hereinafter more fully de scribed and claimed. The drawings show the mechanism as adapted vto a loom having a needle operating from each end of the lay, as shown in an application filed by me September 11, 1886, Serial No. 213,289; but it is equally applicable to looms having a single needle. l

Figure l is a front view of the upper part of a lay provided with a needle at each end, and also with the loop=retaining mechanism; and Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse v section through the line :vx of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is avertical transverse section through the line y y of Fig. 4, which is a side view of the loop-retaining pin and its carrying devices, parts being shown in elevation in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of a portion of a cross-bar located near the front of the loom, and tow-ard which the lay moves in beating up the weft, and this figure shows an angle-bracket secured to such cross-bar, which operates the means for loweringthe pin while the lay is moving forward. Fig. 6 is a side view of the same. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively front elevation and plan views of a tapering anglebracket vsecured to a rod or shaft having at its opposite end an anglepawl, shown by Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section through theline zz of Fig. l0, which is a front view of the anglepawl for securing and tripping the device which carries the loop-retaining pin.

In the drawings the same reference-letters indicate 'corresponding parts whenever repeated. V

A A represent the lay-uprights, which are shown as being broken away just below the cross-piece B. The slides C C are secured upon brackets extending up from the outwardly-projecting armsl) D, and upon these slides the carriers c c, to which the yneedles E E are secured, move to and fro, thus giving motion to the needles, which alternately'intro! duce the filling from opposite sides of the shed.

rIhe carriers c c receive motion from thero'd's F F, which are operated by connections with other parts of the loom. (Not shown.) v

To the cross-pieceB aresecured the devices G G, which carry the loop-retaining pins and ICO which are shown in detail by Figs. 3 and '4.

These devices are located beneath the'r points at which the loops are formed on each side of the shed.

' Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the device G consists of a shell or tube, d, having a slot at one side, as shown at e, and that the same is adapted to be secured to the cross-piece B. Vithin the shell d is a rod or piston, f, the upper end of which is provided with an outwardly-projecting arm, g, which arm has a hole in its outer end, through which passes the loop-retaining pin h, the same beingrsecured at any desired height by means of a set-screw, z'. The upper part of the piston or rod f is, as shown, larger than the lower half or portion, and it has an arm,j, which passes out through the slot e, and is adapted to move up and down within the limits of such slot. The lower portion of the piston or carrier f is somewhat smaller than the upper part, the same being thus made to permit of the interposition of a spring, @which rests upon the bottom wall of the shell d, and also has a bearing against the shoulder formed by the larger part of the piston f, as shown. The lower end of the rod or pistonf is made to pass through an opening in the bottom of the shell d and to project a short distance below the same. It is provided with a notch on its outward face, as shown at Z.

Two small rods or shafts, m m, are secured to the cross-piece B by eye-screws or other suitable means, and the outer end of each .of these rods is provided with a tapering anglebracket, a, the form of which is shown by Figs. 7 and 8. These rods are each given a slight turn or tension by a spring, o, secured around the same and to the cross-piece B. The inner end of the rod m passes in front of the device Gr, and is provided with an anglepawl, p, which, owing to the tension produced by the spring 0, is made to bear against the downwardly-projecting end of the piston f. The pawl p is made to fit the notch Z and to enter the same whenever such notch is brought into juxtaposition by the down movement of the piston f, which at the same time causes a compression of the spring k.

Upon a cross-piece, H, of the loom, which extends in front of the lay, is secured an angle bracket, q, (best shown in Fig. 6,) and which has a tapering arm, 1, the point of which is toward the lay, so that when the lay moves forward to beat up the weft it comes toward the cross-piece H and the point of the arm r. The bracket g is placed in a position which brings the point of the arm r on a line with the arm j of the piston f, and as the lay moves forward the arm j passes beneath the point of the arm r and along the taper of the same, thus lowering the piston f, and with it the pin h, while at the same time the notchZ comes below the shell d, and the tension produced by the spring o causes the rod m to turn and bring the pawlp into the notch Z. In this manner the pin h is withdrawn from the loop while the lay is moving forward, and it is retained in this position until the pawl p is released from the notch Z. This is accomplished by the movement of the rod F, which actuates the needle-carrier. As the needle enters the shed, the movement of the rod F is inward, and when the needle is approaching the limit of its movement through the shed the rod F strikes the tapering part of the bracket n, and its pressure upon this bracket will turn the rod m, which has been held by the spring o, so that the pawlp is tripped and loses itshold in the notch Z, and the spring k, being free, gives an upward movement to the pistonf, which carries the retaining-pin h up through the loop formed in the weft by the needle. The loop-retaining pin h will of course remain in the loop and hold the weft-thread taut until the needle passes out of the shed and the lay moves forward, when it will be withdrawn from the loop at a time when the filling is being tightened by the reed in the manner already explained.

It will easily be seen that the loop-retaining pin moves according to the movements of the mechanism which operates the needle and of the lay, and that it acts just when required.

It is not essential that the rod F should be used to trip the pawl and release the spring which gives an upward motion to the loop-retaining pin, as a bracket or other device mayA be attached to the needle-carrier or to the needle itself so that it will act in the same manner. So, also, other parts may be varied as to forni or detail of construction--as, for instance, the carrier for the loop-retaining pin need not consist of all the parts shown, and the forms of these parts are not essential. In a loom having a single needle changes may be required in order to adapt the mechanism thereto, and particularly if other means from that shown in this and my previous application be employed to operate the needle. In such case connections need only be made for one loop-retaining pin.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combinatiomwiththe lay of aneedleloom, of a loop-retaining pin, a carrier therefor, a spring adapted to give an upward motion to said carrier, the breast-beam, a stationary bracket for forcing the said carrier downward, a pawl for retaining said carrier in its lowered position, and tripping mechanism for releasing said pawl from said carrier, to permit of the upwardmovement of the latter and of the loop-retaining pin when a needle has entered the shed, substantially as set forth.

2. In a needle-loom, the combination, with the lay, the needle, and operating mechanism for the latter, of a loop-retaining pin and a carrier therefor, a spring for forcing said carrier upward, the breast beam, a stationary bracket, g, having a tapering arm, r, for forcing said carrier downward, a pawl for retaining said carrier in its lowered position, and tripping mechanism for releasing said pawl from said carrier, actuated by the needle-operating mechanism, substantially as set forth.

3. In a needle-loom, the combination, with the lay, of a loop-retaining pin and a carrier therefor, a spring for -forcing said carrier upward, a stationary bracket constructed to act on said carrier and lower the same during the forward movement of the lay, a pawl for retaining said carrier in its lowered position, a spring-actuated rod by which said pawl is carried, a tapering angle-bracket attached to said rod, and a moving part, as .arm F, to act on said bracket to release the said pawl, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination with the lay of a needleloom, a loop-retaining pin and carrier therefor, said carrier being provided with a notch, a spring adapted to give an upward motion to said carrier, a pawl adapted to enter the notch in said carrier when said spring is compressed, and a spring-actuated tripping-rod carrying the said pawl, substantially as set forth.

5. In combination with the lay of a needleloom, `a loop-retaining pin and carrier therefor, said carrier being provided with a notch, a spring adapted to give an upward movement to said carrier, a pawl adapted to enter said notch when said spring iscompressed and to thus retainv said carrier in a lowered position, and a rod to which said pawl is secured, the same being adapted to be moved after the needle has entered theshed, whereby l said springjis released, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

.6. In a needle-loom, the combination, with 3,5

actuated rod m, having pawl p and bracket 4o n, substantially as set forth.

J N O. N. STEARNS.

. Witnesses:

CHAs. H. QUIN, HUBERT A. BANNING. 

